


And They Were Roommates

by sunnysidedown



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Gen, M/M, POV Outsider, Post-Canon, Snapchat, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 15:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17327381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnysidedown/pseuds/sunnysidedown
Summary: In the beginning there were a select few people who knew what was going on between Andrew and Neil. To everyone else, well, they were roommates.





	And They Were Roommates

**Author's Note:**

> So. Title was a joke title but then I couldn't come up with anything better. Same with the summary. Gosh I'm a mess.  
> Outsider POV of Post-Canon Andreil.  
> This is suppose to be funny. Please laugh.  
> I can't believe they have a tag called 'Attempt at Humor'.

Sue paused and replayed the clip one more time. Her eyes tracked the movement of the striker as he lofted the ball towards the net. The ball was deflected, the buzzer sounded signaling the striker’s team’s loss. Sue stopped on the close up on the opposing team’s goalie.

Perfect.

She hit control-shift-3 and saved the screenshot under Andreil proof #147. Upon close comparison of Andrew Minyard’s facial expressions when Neil Josten attempted a goal to when anyone else attempted a goal, there was an obvious difference. The flat line or slight frown was always the same but the way his eyes squished slightly when Neil attempted goals alluded to a deeper relationship than just old college teammates and professional friends.

Sue opened another tab in her browser and pulled up the post-game interviews. Neil and Brian McFarland, another striker, were in charge of fielding questions.

“Mr. Josten, how does it feel to be on the same court as your former college teammate Andrew Minyard but this time as opposing teams?”

“It feels refreshing to have a challenge from time to time,” he said with a cocky quirk of his lips.

Trent directed his next question to Brian and Sue tuned it out. They talked strategy, training, and upcoming games for the next few minutes.

Sue knew things about exy but that wasn’t really what interested her. He brother played in high school and then went on the play at a class 2 school in college. She never picked it up herself. She preferred the solitude of running to team sports.

The next question solely directed at Neil drew Sue’s attention back in.

“Though Andrew blocked your last shot, solidifying their win, you scored on him earlier. What’s the trick to getting past the infamous goalie?”

“Well Trent, Andrew is good, almost perfect I dare say, but one too many scoops of ice cream makes a player slow.”

Trent’s expression froze in confusion.

Sue’s heart froze in her throat.

Neil grinned at the camera.

Brian looked absolutely delighted. He leaned forward towards the reporter’s microphone and said, “Thank you Trent. It looks like that’s all we have time for. The showers are calling.” Brian looped his arm around Neil’s shoulder and the two strolled away from the cameras.

The camera panned back to Trent as he smoothed his expression back to newscaster blank. “Folks that was Neil Josten and Brian McFarland. Strikers for the Lansing Lions...”

Sue stopped the video. There was a lot to unpack from the video. She was going to have to be quick in analyzing if she wanted to be the first to post about it online. But first. She leaned back in her chair and pulled up her instant messenger. “Laura,” she typed, “Did you see the latest Josten interview?”

* * *

“Your footwork is sloppy.”

“Hello to you too Kevin,” Neil replied. “Thea. It’s always a pleasure.”

Kevin and Thea took the last two seats at the table. Brian could hardly contain himself sitting next to The Kevin Day. Number one striker in the league. Two-time world championship MVP. The literal Son of Exy himself.

“Neil I think he’s broken.” Andrew’s voice drifted through Brian’s fog.

“Brian? Brian.” Neil rolled his eyes. “Oh god not another one. Kev’s ego is big enough.”  Neil snapped his fingers in front of Brian’s face. Brian startled and looked away from Kevin Day. “Dude, Brian. I know it’s Kevin Day but trust me, before our food even arrives you’ll be over it. He’s not that interesting.”

“Yeah pretty boring,” chimed Andrew.

“I don’t know how you do it Thea.” Neil said.

“Well he is good at exy... among other things...” Thea said and brought her hands together in a crude gesture.

“Fuck you guys.” Kevin glared. “So Brian,” Kevin directed his gaze at him. Brian straightened in his seat. “What did you think of today’s game?”

The question felt loaded under Kevin’s intense gaze. It didn’t help that Andrew, from the opposing team, was there as well, silently sitting next to Neil, fiddling with his straw wrapper.

“Uh, well we’re still a little rough in a few places and will need to work on them but overall it wasn’t that bad of a game.” He repeated what he said to the reporters and judging by the frown of Kevin’s face it was the wrong thing to say.

“Yes but—Andrew!”

“You’ve already reached your limit on how long you can talk about exy for this meal. Pick a new topic or shut up.”

Kevin frowned at Andrew. Brian was secretly thankful. The conversation moved on to the FBI crackdown on mob activity from last month and the upcoming blizzard warning affecting most of the east coast.

Brian blinked and tried to follow the exchanges around the table. He couldn’t keep up. When Neil asked if he wanted to grab dinner with a couple of his friends that were at the game, Andrew was the least of the surprises. He wasn’t expecting Kevin Freaking Day with his fiancé and teammate Thea Muldani. Brian suspected he was sitting with half of the future Olympic exy team. Thank god the waiter came for their orders before Brian could say something stupid.

\--

“Room’s all yours tonight Brian,” Neil said after paying the tab. “I’m staying at Andrew’s tonight.”

Brian raised an eyebrow. “The plane leaves first thing tomorrow. You gonna make it?”

“Don’t worry.” Andrew threw a casual arm around Neil’s shoulders and steered him towards the door. “He won’t miss it.”

Brian shrugged and waved as they parted. They must have had a lot of catching up to do since they’re both on professional exy player schedules. Brian wished he was still in contact with his college roommates, but those were bridges that have long ago collapsed from neglect.

Brian zipped his coat up to help shield against the cool Seattle night. He waved at Kevin and Thea as they got in a taxi and began the short walk back to the team’s hotel.

Besides the stuff about Neil’s father, not much was known about him. Neil was in his first professional year out of college and still getting his feet under him, but he was slowly opening up to the rest of the team. He started joining the team on drink nights and even came over for dinner to meet Brian’s wife and kid once. It was nice to get to know some of Neil’s friends for a change, but for some reason tonight, Brian couldn’t shake the feeling he was fifth wheeling on a double date.

* * *

The goal flashed red again as the buzzer called the end of the first half. The Lansing Lions were down two to their rivals the Detroit Ducks. The season was still early. The game was more a scrimmage than anything serious, but the stadium was still packed almost half and half with each team’s colors.

Tracy tapped her fingers on her leg from her seat in the press box. Neil was out early in the game due to injury. Brian was doing his best to hold fort. The striker to replace Neil was fresh out of college and was a little rough around the edges. Tracy didn’t know why they kept their goalie in when their defense was in shambles and every shot at the goalie, deflected or not seemed to bring the team’s moral down another notch. The Duck’s offense usually wasn’t as good as they are currently but a change in the coaching staff seemed to be making a large difference.

Tracy picked up her pen to jot the thought down for the post-game interview. Her excitement deflated the moment she opened her notepad and saw the note she left herself earlier. Mocking her from the top of her notepad, bolded, underlined, and circled, less she forgot like she already did, were the words “Relationship. Questions. Only.”

Sometimes she wanted to murder her boss.

“Are you familiar with the term RPF?” Her boss had asked leaning into her office earlier that day.

Tracy shook her head.

“I just found something interesting I want you to look into. What do you think the first thing that pops up when you google that Neil Josten guy?”

Tracy frowned. She wasn’t sure where this was going but she had a bad feeling. “Uh well probably the thing with his father from a while back.”

“Right, well the second thing?”

“Exy scores?” she guessed.

“No! That’s the thing,” he said like he just discovered the next big scoop. “The next result is a fan blog. The topic is theories on if Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard are in a relationship. I want you to find out tonight in the post-game interview.”

“Sir, the post-game interview is for asking questions about the game.”

“Other people can ask those questions. This is what people want to know. I want this answered in your next article.” He left no room for further protest by leaving her office.

When Tracy graduated university with a degree in journalism and mass communication, she didn’t expect to become a sports writer. She had dreams that took her across the world to report truths like her idol Anderson Cooper. But student debt had other plans and her abundance of experience reporting college football lead her to a job covering professional exy.

She didn’t hate her job. Far from it once she figured out how the sport worked. She actually enjoyed exy more than she enjoyed football. The game was interesting, the players weren’t too difficult to work with on most days, and the pay was decent. But it wasn’t for her. Five years was a long time to be at a job she didn’t want. Maybe it was time for some change.

Ten minutes slipped by in a blink of an eye. Both teams shuffled back onto the court. Tracy noted the Lion players. It looked like they were going on the defense with their defensive dealer Amber Sunderson being subbed in. The strikers were the same. One of the backliners was subbed out for Tori Wilson and Andrew Minyard was now in the goalie box. Interesting choices. Tracy scribbled in her notepad out of habit.

The game resumed and the longer it went the more obvious they were at a stalemate. Fifteen minutes in, there were attempts at the goal from both teams, but no scoring.

The referee blew the whistle for a time out. The Lions subbed out the green striker for Neil Josten and the other backliner. The change was immediate. Minutes after being put in, the Duck’s goal lit up red with a fast pass from Andrew up the court to Neil. The back and forth continued and Neil scored again bringing them to a tie. The mood of the game shifted again. Penalties left and right on both sides. Amber was subbed for their offensive dealer in the last ten minutes. Andrew blocked another goal and shot the ball to Neil. The fans began the ten second countdown. Neil caught the ball, dodged two backliners, and launched a successful pass to Brian. Brian tripped on a backliner and as he fell he shot the ball towards the goal.

The final buzzer rang. There was a split second of silence while the entire stadium held their breath. The Ducks’ goal lit up red and the world erupted in noise. The Lions bunched together in celebration, clacking rackets and slapping helmets. The Ducks grimly filed out of the court to their locker rooms.

Tracy was vibrating. Second hand adrenaline pumped through her veins, a grin stretched across her face. Her mind ran away with questions.

What was Brian feeling when he scored the game winning goal?

How was team cohesion different being on the defense in the second half when they were mainly an offensive team?

Was Neil’s arm alright?

The Ducks were a different team from last season with this being their first season with their new head coach. Their offense was stronger than before and this game showed it.

Tracy gathered her stuff. If she didn’t hurry she would miss her chance for an interview.

Her phone buzzed. Checking the message, she frowned. It was a text from her boss. All the excitement from the game drained. Her face pinched in frustration but she didn’t slow her pace. She might as well get it over with.

\--

Neil and Andrew stopped in front of the press wall and waited expectantly for the questions to begin. Tracy did her best to convey her regrets in her eyes and asked the first question.

“There are rumors going around that you two are an item. Care to shed some light on the situation?” Tracy felt slimy just from voicing the question out loud.

“Oh. This isn’t like you,” Andrew replied immediately. “I normally like you.”

Tracy did her best the keep a pleasant smile on her face while she held her recorder up.

“You’re serious?” Neil piped in. “Nope. Not happening. Next question.”

Tracy refused to let out the built up sigh in her chest and flipped a page in her notebook. “In an interview with Kevin Day last week, he mentioned going out on double dates. Do you two go with him and Thea Muldani?”

“Hmmm, thank you, next.”

“From being former college teammates to now being professional teammates, how has your relationship changed?”

“How do you even come up with these questions? Next.”

“Um, it has come the attention of some of the fans that Andrew is often seen around your apartment Neil. Could there be some sort of special relationship going on?” Tracy hated how each question was asking the same thing but from different angles. Interviewing was supposed to be a conversation with questions as gentle guiding points. Her boss was an idiot.

“Do you have any exy related questions or is this all just for the sake of gossip? Like I can give you the stuff I usually say to those reporters, but I haven’t as a courtesy to how you usually are.”

“Are you being blackmailed?” Andrew asked. “Blink twice for yes.”

Tracy let the sigh escape now. “Just one more. Are you two roommates?”

Neil rolled his eyes. “Well yeah. Anything else?”

Tracy wanted to cry with joy. She got some type of answer and if her boss didn’t like it he can come out here and interview them himself. Tracy flipped the page in her book again and reached the end of the list of horror.

“If you don’t have anything else, we’re gonna go hit the showers,” Neil said and began turning away.

“The Ducks typically lack offensive strength but it seems like they brought it to the game this evening. What do you two think about the Ducks’ new play style? Are there any plans in place to accommodate for the change?” She burst out before she missed her chance.

“Ah yes. Finally, an exy question.”

\--

Tracy slumped through the lobby barefoot, high heels dangling in her hand. She never really understood why people wore heels to sporting events. Athletic event should require athletic shoes for everyone, not just the athletes.

It was late. She didn’t mean to get sidetracked drafting the next day’s article. The only ones left were the custodians. She made it out into the cool autumn night. The stars hid behind the overcast sky. She walked carefully to avoid rocks and glass to get to her car in the reserved parking lot. Halfway there she paused when she noticed someone else was still there. Sitting on a car more expensive than what she made in three years was Neil and Andrew.

Neil sat with one leg pulled up and one leg out. In his hand was a cigarette that didn’t look like he was smoking. The surprising thing was Andrew. He was leaning on Neil’s shoulder. The clouds parted and Tracy could see that he was asleep.

Neil looked up and their eyes locked. His eyes, blue and icy were not quite a threat but not nearly nice enough to be a warning. Slowly as to not disturb Andrew’s slumber, Neil brought his index finger up to his lips for silence. Unconsciously Tracy did the same and Neil smiled. It was something cold and terrible. Different from the face he put up in front of crowds. More private. The real Neil. The boy who was on the run for nine years before his demons caught him. Tracy read the stories; she saw the news.

She held back a shiver and quickly made her way to her car without looking back. Her boss was going to have to deal with the normal exy questions or she was going to quit on the spot.

* * *

“Well Marcus that’s about it for the introductions. The rest will be handled as they come up. For now, here’s your office. It’s shared with the other interns. You can decorate your space however you want. I’ll leave you here to familiarize yourself and to go over the athletes you’ll be helping with. I have a call I have to make, but I’ll be back in about thirty minutes to give you a tour of the facilities and maybe we can catch the team finishing practice.”  Sarah turned and left Marcus in the cramped, little office.

He sat in his new chair. The office had two other desks that were in various states of disarray. He didn’t know if his office mates were in or not but he currently had the place to himself. He grinned in excitement. He was finally taking bigger steps towards his future goals. The application process for the internship was rigorous but as he examined the folders on his desk, he knew it was worth it every hoop he had to jump through. His desk was spotless except for the small stack of folders. The top four were blue. They were the athletes he would be working with for the next year. He opened the first one.

Tori Wilson was the backliner from Ohio State University. She’s been on the team for three years and she frequently donates to local Women shelters.

Evan Smith was twenty-four and going into his second year as a striker for the Lions. Most of the charities he liked to work with involved children.

He flipped over the next one.

Andrew Minyard. Marcus paused. He sounded vaguely familiar but he couldn’t quite place why. He skimmed his bio and flipped to his final blue folder.

The last one he did actually recognize. It was such a big news story that it made it out of exy news and onto mainstream news. The blue eyes of Neil Josten stared back up at him and Andrew’s position clicked into place. They were collegiate teammates and now on the same professional team as well as two members of the winning 2012 US Olympic team. Saying he was a little star struck would be an understatement. He had no idea why Sarah thought he would be qualified enough to help with the public relations for two big name players like them. He could only hope he wouldn’t mess up and end up dead in a ditch somewhere.

“Are you ready for that tour?” Sarah popped her head in and Marcus almost dropped his folders everywhere.

“Yeah sure let’s go,” he replied setting the folders down on his desk.

\--

Sarah took Marcus around the facility. On the way she gave historic tidbits on the Lions and told stories of some of the players she’s worked with in the past. Eventually they entered a room with a few couches in a circle, a mini kitchen in the corner, and doors lined on both sides of the room.

“This area is the team room. They mainly use it to hang out or have team meetings. In the corner over there is the fueling station though there are more options available in the cafeteria which I will bring you by later. This room connects to the men’s and women’s locker rooms. The locker rooms both have an entrance to the court but the team typically meets in this room before heading out to the court. The door over there leads to the film room also known as the video game room. Do not challenge Amber to Mario Kart. No matter how good you think you are, she’s better.” Sarah’s spiel was interrupted by some stomping coming from the court doors. “Ah they must be done. Brace yourself Marcus.”

“Wha-”

The doors to the court burst open as one of the players rushed through. “Get back here Evan! I will make you eat those words” followed him along with a bout of laughter.

Evan looked around briefly before his eyes landed on Sarah and Marcus. “Hide me!”

Sarah smiled and pointed to one of the rooms.

Evan ran for cover.

Soon after another player walked through the doors. Her helmet was off and her long brown hair was coming undone from her braid. Her eyes scanned the room like Evan’s did. “Where is he?” She bit out.

Sarah smiled and pointed to the same room and the woman stormed over. “Sit down Evan Taylor Smith. Only cowards run.” There was a betrayed scream and the door slammed shut. Moments later the telltale Nintendo Wii startup noise blared.

“That was Amber Sunderson and Evan Smith. Trust me, whatever Evan did, he deserved it.” Sarah explained.

The rest of the team trickled in. Marcus spotted Tori in the mix. Her hair was shorter than her profile picture.

The players gave quiet greetings to Sarah and curious nods to Marcus. When it looked like the whole team was in Sarah cleared her throat. “Listen up kiddos. This here is Marcus and he’s the new PR intern,” Sarah paused and Marcus waved. “Please leave a good impression and be on your best behavior for the rest of forever.”

“Oh Sarah you know that’s impossible,” one of the players said while some of the others laughed. “Evan already ran through here didn’t he?”

“Well, don’t scare him off. Wilson, Minyard, Josten. Front and center.” Tori stepped forward. The rest of the team cleared out heading to the fueling station or the locker rooms.

“Where’s Minyard and Josten?” Sarah asked after a moment.

“Minyard’s probably trying to peel Josten off the court,” Tori answered with a shrug. “It was one of those practices.”

The court doors opened again and the two shortest people Marcus has ever seen passed the age of ten walked through. Marcus towered over them. Tori and Sarah towered over them. Marcus’s nine-year-old cousin would tower over them. Marcus did his best to keep his face neutral.

The two walked closely together. Neil looked to be explaining something but Marcus’s two years of his major’s language requirement wasn’t enough to understand his German. They automatically stopped when they got by them.

“Hm, who’s this?” Neil asked.

“Hi, I’m Marcus. The new PR intern. I’ll be working with you three and Evan in the future.” Marcus stuck out his hand to Andrew who was closest.

Andrew stared at Marcus’s outstretched hand, but didn’t take it.

Marcus shifted his gaze to Neil.

Neil stared back without doing anything.

Someone snorted in the background.

Marcus slowly dropped his hand. “Okay.”

Tori took pity on him and reached out her hand, but it was too late. It already spiraled into awkward. “It’s nice to meet you Marcus,” she said with a pleasant smile. “Don’t mind these assholes.”

Marcus shook her hand. “Thank you, it’s nice to meet you too.”

“Well we won’t hold you guys up here. Gotta finish the tour. We’ll see you tomorrow for the photoshoot with Make-A-Wish. Okay?”

\--

Working with Tori, Evan, Andrew, and Neil wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. Well. Working with Tori and Evan was always a pleasure. Neil was hit or miss with the shooter being legally blind and shooting in the dark at a target a mile away, but he was agreeable, excited to participate in events. Things only went south when someone asked about his father. Which despite the incident happening over five years ago, was a topic that came up far too often. And Andrew… difficult was not the correct term to describe working with him. He attended events and stayed for the required time but nothing more, answered questions in the most efficient ways possible, posed for pictures with a considerate distance between himself and the others. There existed an air of hostility around him that was impossible to penetrate. It made Marcus a little nervous like he was back in college walking home from a late night study session through the sketchy neighborhood because it was the quickest way home. He’s been mugged once and he survived. He could handle Andrew.

Marcus looked up from his computer screen after hitting send on his last email of the day. He leaned back in his chair, popping his back. His two office mates already left for the day. Marcus started closing windows on his computer to shut it down. His eyes landed on two folded shirts sitting on the edge of his desk. The shirts that Andrew and Neil were to wear at a charity event they were attending early the next morning. The shirts Marcus was supposed to give them before they went home for the day. Marcus checked his watch. They were long gone.

Marcus mentally went through his options. They were going straight to the event and it was an early start tomorrow with a little drive so it wouldn’t be reasonable to ask them to stop by the office to pick them up. Sarah was going with them so Marcus couldn’t just give it to them when they got to the event. Sarah lived thirty minutes in good traffic the opposite direction of Marcus’s apartment. It was currently rush hour. Neil lived in Marcus’s general area. He could drop the shirts off at his place. Now that Marcus thought about it, so did Andrew. But who was scarier to call?

After figuring out that Andrew had a sweet tooth and was more amiable towards events that either revolved around sweets or had copious amounts of them on the food tables, working with him was easier. He even found out that it was possible to bribe him with sweets. Tomorrow’s event involved lots cake and ice cream.

Neil picked up on the third ring and gave Marcus his address.

Traffic was light that evening and Marcus was parking in the drop-off section of Neil’s apartment in no time. “Hey Neil I’m downstairs,” Marcus said into his phone.

“Okay I’ll buzz you up. Fifth floor. 505. Door’s open. Don’t let the cats out.” Neil abruptly cut off and the door buzzed.

Marcus found his way upstairs. He knocked gently on 505 before turning the knob to open the door. Immediately a ball of fuzz ran for freedom. Marcus blocked them with his feet. The cat looked up at him, meowed, then sauntered off deeper into the apartment. Another cat sat perched on a side table and followed Marcus’s movements as he walked down the short hallway to the rest of the apartment.

The hallway emptied into a kitchen and living room area with an island separating the two. The kitchen was spacious with granite countertops, light wood cabinets, and matching stainless steel appliances. He walked in and had to choke on a laugh. Neil was grabbing something from one of the cabinets and he was standing on an honest to god step stool. The worst part was that it wasn’t tall enough; it was essentially a step stool so he could climb on the counter easier. Marcus did his best to keep a straight face. The muscles in his cheeks strained to keep his laughter in.

“Hey Marcus. You can set the shirt on the island.”

“Okay, do you mind giving Andrew’s to him tomorrow?”

“Hm, yeah,” Neil said while climbing down with the mixing bowl he was grabbing.

Marcus let his eyes wonder for a moment. The apartment was nicer, cleaner, more decorated than Marcus expected. There were side tables, lamps, pieces of art, things that Marcus couldn’t see a man like Neil putting thought into buying let alone arranging. On the counter, two plates were set up. The drying rack by the sink held mugs, bowls, and silverware in two’s. Marcus suddenly felt like he was intruding, but curiosity pushed him to ask anyway: “Do you live with someone?”

“Mhmm, he should be back soon,” Neil said. One of the cats from earlier rushed back towards the entrance. The front door clicked open soon after. “Oh speak of the devil.”

“King. Don’t you dare.” Andrew Minyard stopped the cat from bolting out the door. In his hands were a couple grocery bags. He looked up and their eyes met. “Marcus.”

“Andrew.”

“Why?”

“Shirts.”

Andrew nodded and set the groceries on the counter.

“Well, here are the shirts. Event starts at eight sharp. Don’t be late. I’ll see you when you’re done. Bye.” Marcus didn’t exactly run out of the apartment, but he didn’t want to be there longer than he should be. It was their private life and he didn’t want them to feel forced to share something they weren’t ready to share.

Marcus knew. The entire team knew. They weren’t very subtle, but somehow the general public had yet to pick up on it.

Marcus had no idea how to handle the information, besides the obvious of not saying anything. He had to stop in the hallway. They had _cats_ together. Neil Josten was in the process of making _cookies_. For all Andrew liked sweets, Neil avoided them. There was a photograph, the details flooded Marcus’s mind now that he was out of the apartment, of Andrew and Neil hung up in the hallway. Andrew was actually _smiling_.

He was calling Sarah before he knew it. He could hear car horns in the background when she picked up. “Sarah. They’re roommates.”

She paused on the line with a little laugh. “Oh yeah. They are roommates.”

* * *

Neil scrolled through his Facebook feed mentally planning the next time he’ll be free so he could visit Dan and Matt.

The bedroom light switched off signally Andrew’s arrival. It was 9:30pm and his weekly crime show just finished. The room was still illuminated by a lamp on the night stand, a silent argument Andrew would never win about having a lamp and the overhead light on at the same time.

Andrew walked over and pushed Neil back to his side of the bed. He sat up against the headboard, a book in his lap and reading glasses on his nose. Neil moved back over.

After catching up with the people he cared about, he switched over to check his Snapchat. He had a couple notifications from Allison, one from Matt, one from Team Snapchat, and several from Nicky. He clicked through and replied with photos of his ceiling. On Nicky’s last snap was a picture of him and Erik wishing them a Happy National Boyfriend’s day.

“Hey Andrew. Yes or no?”

Andrew side eyed Neil. Neil tried to hide his grin. “Yes.”

Neil sat up next to Andrew and pulled him to his side. “Say cheese.”

Andrew didn’t smile. Neil did for both of them while he planted a light kiss on his cheek. Neil pulled away and started typing a reply.

“Five seconds.” A hand grabbed the top of his phone. Neil typed faster.

“Three... Two...”

Neil selected Nicky, the top option, and hit send.

“One, junkie.” Andrew slipped the phone from Neil’s hands and pulled him into a real kiss. 

* * *

Marcus scrolled through his Tumblr feed liking and reblogging at speed. It was late and he hated his need to get to the bottom of feed every night before going to bed. He didn’t even follow that many blogs but the ones he did follow posted frequently. At night. When he’s trying to go to bed. He paused his scrolling to open a snap from his old college roommate. He replied and decided that he might as well reply to all his snaps and finally get rid of the little red notification that has been plaguing the aesthetic of his phone screen for weeks. He was already an hour passed when he should be sleeping so another thirty minutes wouldn’t make much of a difference.

There was something new by Neil’s name. They’ve never snapped and he didn’t think he would start now. Marcus clicked on it and a photo popped up. It disappeared before he could fully comprehend what he saw. Where the icon was a replay icon appeared and Marcus clicked it again. It was a snap of Neil kissing Andrew’s cheek wishing some people named Nicky and Erik a Happy National Boyfriend’s day. Which was fine but Marcus didn’t know if it was supposed to go on whatever new function Snapchat had released. The public didn’t know that they were an official couple yet. Marcus had no idea how they haven’t figured it out. Though he supposed that most interactions with the public were exy games and stiff interviews. The media would have a field day. Marcus could already see the masses of emails he’d have in the morning.

Marcus checked the snap from Team Snapchat and relaxed. Only people who followed Neil could see them. So friends. Why would anyone follow someone if they wouldn’t follow back anyway?

* * *

Sue startled awake when her phone went off. It didn’t feel right. She just went to sleep so there was no way it was already morning. She heard her roommate groan and turn over. A moment later, it clicked into place. It was her ringtone and not her alarm. She quickly picked up her phone only to pull it away from her ear when Laura shrieked.

“Laura, what the fuck? It’s…” Sue squinted at the red light of her roommate’s alarm clock. “It’s 3AM. I have a test in the morning.”

“Sue! This is important! Check your Snapchat! Then call back!” Laura abruptly hung up.

Sue blindly navigated to the app. The white light burned her eyes. She didn’t have any notifications. Sue was going to punch Laura the next time she saw her. She scrolled down her contacts just in case and froze when she saw something next to Neil Josten’s name.

Sue sat up so fast she got vertigo. She followed Neil the moment she knew he had a Snapchat. He didn’t follow back and she didn’t expect him to, but at that moment, she was glad she did.

She clicked on the circle next to Neil’s name and screamed.

* * *

Brian checked his watch again. Neil was late to their morning lift session and Neil was never late. “Hey Evan, have you seen Josten?”

“Josten and Minyard were called in by Sarah this morning,” Evan replied without looking up from texting on his phone.

“Oh, why?”

“Didn’t you hear? Check your Snapchat.”

“You know I don’t do social media.”

“Oh yeah.” Evan tapped on his phone some more before handing it to Brian. “Here. There’s a new function on Snapchat called Stories and this was posted on Neil’s this morning. Probably by accident.”

Brian took the phone and snorted. “I bet they’re having fun right now.”

“Lol you should have seen Sarah’s face; she looked so stressed.”

* * *

Tracy set her briefcase down in her office. She frowned at the dust covering her desk. She was only gone for a month. She left her office to hunt down some paper towels.

Her last scoop took her away overseas. Between investigations, she was able to travel around the area. She got to try new foods, learn about the culture, make friends with some of the locals. It was exciting and she loved each and every moment.

When she got back to her office, she could hear the sound of her personal cellphone’s ringtone softly chiming through her briefcase.

“Hello Sarah. It’s been a while,” she said picking up the phone.

“Hey Tracy.” Sarah’s voice sounded a little frantic. Paper could be heard shuffling in the background. Someone was screaming? Tracy wasn’t sure.

“Everything alright over there? You still working with the Lions?”

“Yeah. Are you in town? I’m gonna have to call in that favor.”

“I’m in town. Just got back yesterday. What’s up?”

“You know Neil and Andrew right? They finally came out. Kind of. I’ll update you when you get here. They refused an official press conference but agreed to an interview on the condition that you did it.”

Tracy raised an eyebrow. “Me?”

“I know this isn’t your thing anymore, but they insisted.”

“Uhh…” Tracy remembered the cold smile that stretched across Neil’s face that night in the parking lot. It haunted her dreams some nights when the temperature dropped outside. But she also remembered the careful way Neil moved around Andrew’s sleeping form, the soft way he cradled his head with his arms. They were people like the ones in her articles at her new job. It wasn’t going to be about exy like her previous articles about them. It wasn’t going to be about rumors and gossip like the article that made her quit. It was going to be about their truth. “Yeah. I can do that. I’ll be over in thirty minutes.”

**Author's Note:**

> Uhhhhhh, yeah.  
> October 3, 2013 is significant for two reasons. 1) It was the day Snapchat updated their app with the Stories function. 2) It was National Boyfriend Day.  
> Extra content, if you wanna read it, can be found [ here.](https://sunnyupsidedown.tumblr.com/post/181789443006/extra-content-that-no-one-asked-for-for-and)  
> Thank you for reading.  
> tumblr: [sunnyupsidedown](https://sunnyupsidedown.tumblr.com)


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